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[IDIOT] Whose NBA career is better? Shaquille O'Neal vs. Hakeem Olajuwon

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Jake Tower, Aug 9, 2019.

  1. Jake Tower

    Jake Tower Member

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  2. VooDooPope

    VooDooPope Love > Hate
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  3. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Shaq had Prime Kobe as a teammate.
     
  4. fchowd0311

    fchowd0311 Contributing Member

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    Shaq also had the second best shooting guard and the third best shooting guard of all time in their respective primes as teammates.

    Dream would have the same amount or more rings with those teammates.
     
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  5. PlayBall

    PlayBall Member

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  6. dc rock

    dc rock Contributing Member

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    The opinion of someone who actually played (and won championships) with them matters more to me.

    Robert Horry was asked...

    You played with Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tim Duncan, three of the greatest big men in NBA history. I guess it’s difficult for you to say who’s the best…

    No, no it’s not. It’s very easy.

    Who’s the best then?

    ‘The Dream’ (Olajuwon) was the best. He had everything they had the other two, but more. For example, The Dream could do everything he did ‘ Shaq ‘ but also got free throws. And the truth is that the other two learned from Olajuwon, who was the best center and the best power forward in history. What defines these bigs is not what they could do but what they could not do. And The Dream could do everything.


    https://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/09/2...n-shaq/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
     
  7. JW86

    JW86 Member

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    No need to compare, both were great in their own right. Totally different types of players at that. We never saw prime versions match up, which might have given us a slight answer. In this case, there’s no point.
     
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  8. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    The author is full of ****.
     
  9. rocketsfan611

    rocketsfan611 Member

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    Wait. Am I reading this correctly? If given no other choice, you'd rather watch hours of Shaq on offense then hours of Hakeem on offense? I don't mean this rudely, but did your eye balls observe Olajuwon against Robinson in 1995? Shaq was tremendous in terms of shear size and strength, often bumping off opponents at will...but I'd rather watch perfectly crafted footwork, elite passing ability, and a silky smooth jump shot all day over someone catching alley oop dunks and overpowering their defender, then laying it in or dunking.
     
  10. lockedin34

    lockedin34 Member

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    Shaq was definitely more dominant but Hakeem was more skilled and its not close. I myself take skilled players over players that rely on their body any day
     
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  11. Gray_Jay

    Gray_Jay Member

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    If you go by the stats it's Shaq, though I think Dream was the superior player. See for yourself https://www.basketball-reference.co...uille+O'Neal&player_id2=onealsh01&idx=players

    Win Shares likes Shaq's peak over Dream's. Dream played about 5 percent more minutes than Shaq. Shaq still had more points. And about the same number of boards.

    Per 36: Shaq, 24.6/11.2/2.6. EFG% of .582. WS/48 career of .208.
    Dream: 21.9/11.2/2.5. EFG% of .513. WS/48 career of .177
    Obviously Dream was better on steals and blocks: 1.8/3.1 vs 0.6/2.3

    Shaq: 1 MVP, 14 All-NBA, 3 All-Defense, 3 Finals MVP
    Dream: 1 MVP, 12 All-NBA, 9 All-Defense, 2 DPoY., 2 Finals MVP.

    Fairly similar black ink awards, other than the defensive ones. I'm surprised. I think Dream did more with the limited opportunities he had compared to Shaq.

    Different scoring eras. Not as bad as trying to compare Wilt to people, but still I don't think Dream's era and Shaq's are a 1-1 fit.
     
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  12. lockedin34

    lockedin34 Member

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    No he said he'd much rather watch Hakeem.
     
  13. PlayBall

    PlayBall Member

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    No, that's not what I meant at all. I think we're saying the same thing.

    I said Dream was way more fun to watch, and Shaq's offense was ugly to watch. Unfortunately it was also pretty much unstoppable.
     
  14. waytookrzy079

    waytookrzy079 Member

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    Not even gonna bother to give that crap a click based on the comments on this thread.

    Hakeem >>>>> Shaq
     
  15. Reeko

    Reeko Member

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    didn’t read, but Hakeem won a title as the 6th seed and whooped Shaq’s ass in the finals

    Rockets didn’t have HCA in any series and every team they faced had won at least 50 games with 3 of them winning 55 or more

    that was the most impressive run to a title in NBA history
     
  16. Gray_Jay

    Gray_Jay Member

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    Agree with this. Perhaps long term Rockets fans know better, but was Dream as utterly unstoppable on offense as Shaq was at his peak? There was the famous game against Robinson after the Admiral got his MVP, and certainly Horry quoted elsewhere in the thread thinks they were comparable, but Shaq a lot of the time looked like the only to stop him was to deny him the ball or to foul him. His low post game was ugly, brutal, and effective.
     
  17. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Hakeem is the better player but Shaq had the better career and also the better branding that's why in a lot of people's eyes Shaq is better.

    Shaq is heavily biased on offense, he has a big frame after his early 20s you couldnt count on him for rebs and def anymore cuz he was always out of shape. Hakeem oth was the total package, he can score, def and reb and he had a very long and healthy career.

    Unfortunately luck plays a better part in career success than your actual talent, Hakeem was unluckily drafted by the Rox who were too incompetent to surround him with talent. If they had reunited Drexler and Hakeem instead of Ralph Sampson and a bunch of crackheads Hakeem might have been the GOAT today.
     
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  18. pauebtg

    pauebtg Member

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    Hakeem is the better player, but Of Course Shaq would have the better career. He had a Prime Kobe. Hakeem only had good role players and an aging (But still good) Drexler.
     
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  19. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    If it wasn’t for cheapskate Les Alexander not giving Hakeem money, he would have stayed with the Rockets his entire career

    Who cares about better career
    We should care about PURE career

    Dream played his college ball in Houston
    He was an immigrant
    He played for Houston as professional
    And gave Houston its first real championship

    That’s PURE
    @Os Trigonum
     
  20. Mattician

    Mattician Member

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    Shaq had the better career because of who he played for and who he played with.

    Hakeem was a better player and impacted the game on both sides of the floor like no other player. He had lesser talent around him compared to Shaq.

    I'd pick Hakeem over Shaq every single chance I had.
     
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